"Patti for president," the woman cried out at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore, just a mile or so away from where President Barack Obama could be found drumming up support at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

President Patti Smith? It does have a certain ring to it. And you can bet that her State of the Union addresses would kick butt.

"Well, you know me," Smith responded to the nomination. "If I was president, I would spend all my time reading and watching detective shows -- and let Ralph Nader do all the work."

Maybe it's best to leave the running of the country to the professionals -- if only because rock 'n' roll can't afford to lose Smith.

Punk rock's poet laureate proved once again during her Fillmore show, which followed a performance at the gigantic Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on Sunday, that she's nothing less than a one-in-a-million talent.

Her sold-out show was filled with highly literary and poetic songs, worthy of dissection in a graduate-level college course, yet her performance contained the type of raw power usually witnessed in a high school punk rock gig. She's one of the most magnetic performers to ever grace the stage, whether she's reading from French poet Arthur Rimbaud, faithfully covering some classic rock tune or shaking the foundation with one of her own early classics. Heck, she could recite the menu from a Chinese restaurant and it would still come across as genius.

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Smith is touring in support of her 11th studio album, "Banga," which unfortunately isn't one of her stronger outings. Yet, as great artists will do, she rose above the material in concert and still managed to make such new songs as the album's title track and the Amy Winehouse tribute "This is the Girl" sound potent.

Wearing her normal outfit -- a baggy black suit coat over a while T-shirt and jeans -- the 65-year-old vocalist led her always-great band through one gem after another during the two-hour set. When she wasn't singing, Smith chatted up the crowd in an endearingly informal manner, through topics ranging from shopping in Monte Carlo to film recommendations. As always, Smith also paid tribute to some of her favorite artists, including the late great leader of the Fillmore's old house band.

"We'd like to dedicate this to Jerry Garcia," Smith said in the introduction to the "Radio Ethiopia" cut "Distant Fingers."

She also gave a shout-out to French actress and friend Maria Schneider ("Last Tango in Paris"), who is the inspiration behind the new album's "Maria," and touched upon one of her biggest musical influences -- the Velvet Underground. Some things are just too cool -- like seeing Thom Yorke cover Joy Division in concert -- and hearing Smith do Lou Reed's "Pale Blue Eyes" is certainly one of them.

She spent time -- perhaps too much time -- at the end of the show campaigning for Obama. But it came in the midst of some of the best songs of the night, notably "Gloria," "Because the Night" and "People Have the Power."